Torrington's flourish at the end overtakes Holy Cross By Rick Wilson Republican-American

WATERBURY -- Let's see, there was Sarah Royals' four-point play from halfcourt a couple of years ago that trended worldwide. Then there was an unheard-of 30-point pulverization earlier this year. And now this.

Holy Cross has held the edge against Torrington over the years. Holy Cross has held the edge over everybody in the Naugatuck Valley League. The Crusaders have been the gold standard for a long, long time.

But when Torrington takes its turn on top vs. the Crusaders, the Raiders do it with a flourish. They don't just stick the knife in; they drag it around a bit and then jam it in a little deeper.

And so it was Tuesday night: Torrington 45, Holy Cross 42. No big deal, right? The Raiders beat the Crusaders for the second time this season.

Sorry, not that simple. How about this. Holy Cross (10-6) was ahead, 39-27, going into the fourth quarter. The Raiders (12-4) were having one of those nights. Through three quarters, they shot a less than robust 8-of-39 from the floor (21 percent), including a 1-of-12 iceberg in the third quarter.

Even coach Mike Fritch had kind of figured this one was pretty much history.

"I looked over at Erika (Pratt, his assistant coach and daughter), and she said it's not our night. I agreed with her," said Fritch. "But I did say, let's hang in there."

Ah, coach, the night was just beginning. Holy Cross did not score a basket in the final nine minutes. Just three foul shots found their way on the scoreboard for the Crusaders.

Here came Torrington. Nicole Kozlak (12 points) drilled a 3-pointer, the only basket in the first four minutes of the final quarter. Then Mika Howard got in the act with a 3-ball from the wing and suddenly there was an uncomfortable feeling in the Pit as the lead was sliced to 39-33 with 3:47 to

See RAIDERS, Page 5C

go.

Kozlak and Howard combined for three free throws, and it was 39-36 with 1:54 to go. Holy Cross was in the midst of a numbing 0-for-6, eight-turnover quarter. Kozlak tied the game, 39-39, with another 3-pointer.

Then Torrington's Paige Middleton began a wild, whacky final minute and a half. Middleton threw a bomb in to put Torrington ahead, 42-39, and complete a run of 15 unanswered points for Torrington.

Chelsea Houlihan (18 points) finally got the Crusaders on the board in the period with a foul shot with 1:18 remaining. And Amy Stafford got Holy Cross back even, 42-42, with a pair from the line with 44 ticks left.

After a missed foul shot and a turnover by Torrington, Houlihan drove to the hoop only to have her shot blocked by Megan Calabrese. Middleton grabbed the ball and was fouled by Stafford. With 9.3 seconds she drained both foul shots.

"First, I yelled at her, then I hugged her," laughed Fritch.

Houlihan missed at the other end and Middleton completed the improbable comeback with a final foul shot with 1.6 seconds to go.

"We did everything right defensively, not offensively," said Fritch. "In the end, we got the ball into the right hands. Nicole hits a big three, Paige hits a big three and Paige hits the foul shots. As bad as we played, we didn't hang our heads. This was fun."

Maybe not so much on the other side. Holy Cross coach Frank Lombardo has seen this type of play before from his Crusaders this year.

"We have shown improvement since the second game of the season, but this is typical of the way we have played all season," said Lombardo. "We have been very inconsistent both offensively and defensively. We were pretty solid for three quarters, and to start the fourth quarter we missed three wide-open layups and the front end of a one-and-one. We lost a lot of confidence and started to play tentatively. We played not to lose instead of playing to win. "

Despite a subpar night from leading scorer Kiera O'Donnell, who managed just one basket and four points, the Crusaders rode the fine play of Houlihan (13 points in first half) to an 18-10 first quarter lead and 26-19 halftime edge.

But sometimes nothing is as it seems in this rivalry. Another statistic both teams can mull over. Of Torrington's 12 baskets in the game, seven were 3-pointers. Only five were regular field goals. Yet, they won.

You can't make this stuff up, which is why this rivalry is one of the best.

Reader Comments

The following are comments from online readers like you. In no way do they represent the view of The Republican-American.

Dee Middleton wrote on Jan 30, 2013 6:57 AM:

" Loved the article, Torrinton Girls on FIRE. Keep up the great coverage, I live for the morning paper. (Paige's Grandmother) "

Submit a Comment

We encourage your feedback and dialog. Please be civil and respectful. Registered users comments will be posted automatically. All other comments will be reviewed by our staff before appearing on the Web site. If you're witty, to the point and quotable, your reader comments may also be included on the Around the Towns page of The Sunday Republican.